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Bus Discussion => Bus Topics ( click here for quick start! ) => Topic started by: luvrbus on January 02, 2021, 05:48:00 PM

Title: Fuel Prices
Post by: luvrbus on January 02, 2021, 05:48:00 PM
So I am a little on the cheap side , it is me or you guys notice diesel is creeping up it is costing me 40 to 50 bucks more now to fill up than it did the 1st of Dec.We left Scottsdale today and fuel was $2.44 and I told Sonja I will fill up in Quartzsite it will be a lot cheaper as it all ways is lol I paid $2.61 a gal, Loves and Pilot was wanting $2.78 after the discount I have the feeling our $1.78 a gal for diesel here is no more 
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: richard5933 on January 02, 2021, 06:08:51 PM
Prices are expected to rise for a few weeks and then level off again, last I saw. Couldn't find a good explanation of why, but I think it has something to do with OPEC.
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: luvrbus on January 02, 2021, 06:13:52 PM
Prices are expected to rise for a few weeks and then level off again, last I saw. Couldn't find a good explanation of why, but I think it has something to do with OPEC.


Level off to what ? I hope not $4.00 a gal again,last I heard we export oil
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: chessie4905 on January 02, 2021, 07:05:50 PM
Always goes up around here this time of year. Anti gel additive is main reason.
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: neoneddy on January 02, 2021, 10:50:15 PM
Since I became a coach owner in 2017 I've watched this site often. https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/report/us_oil.php  Looks like things will be trending upward, but  as long as we stay well below $3/gal I'm cool with that.

I know in the great white north here, fuel / heating oil is a fancy word for higher sulfur diesel.  Diesel has some demand in the winter for heating purposes. 

Oddly enough I looked at getting some fuel oil delivered because I've considered using the Chinese diesel heater to heat my office / shop as well as my bus.  Turns out with my TSD fuel card I can get road diesel cheaper than offroad fuel oil... go figure.

I see AZ diesel well into the $2.50/gal ...  cheapest I see as of today is $2.20 in MN... that's up from $1.85 or so in Nov / Dec .   I think we're seeing the rebound from the COVID slump... I'll take this over the  $3./gal we had lately.
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: chessie4905 on January 03, 2021, 04:18:18 AM
Our home heating oil runs high. You can find best oil prices in PA. on a best oil price site. The fuel dealers post their prices. Around here, dealers don't show their prices and our price is usually 20 to 25 cents a gallon more than the eastern part of state. I know bulk fuel source should account for some difference, but not that much.
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: luvrbus on January 03, 2021, 06:17:44 AM
Since I became a coach owner in 2017 I've watched this site often. https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/report/us_oil.php  Looks like things will be trending upward, but  as long as we stay well below $3/gal I'm cool with that.

I know in the great white north here, fuel / heating oil is a fancy word for higher sulfur diesel.  Diesel has some demand in the winter for heating purposes. 

Oddly enough I looked at getting some fuel oil delivered because I've considered using the Chinese diesel heater to heat my office / shop as well as my bus.  Turns out with my TSD fuel card I can get road diesel cheaper than offroad fuel oil... go figure.

I see AZ diesel well into the $2.50/gal ...  cheapest I see as of today is $2.20 in MN... that's up from $1.85 or so in Nov / Dec .   I think we're seeing the rebound from the COVID slump... I'll take this over the  $3./gal we had lately.


Here in the Valley fuel is still cheap but I don't need it now $1.78 at Sams and $1.83 at Fast Trip  the Smoke shop is $2.22,over 4 bucks on the CA  side and 3 bucks on the NV side of the river 
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: richard5933 on January 03, 2021, 06:37:10 AM
I'm not at all surprised that fuel prices are going up. They were pushed down as a result of a number of world events, but my guess is that they'll continue to follow their 'normal' trajectory as we see a light at the end of the covid-19 tunnel.

I couldn't find a similar chart for diesel prices, but here's a chart which shows inflation adjusted prices for gasoline from 1978 to 2017. They seem to hold on a steady line of about $2.50 +/- a few dimes.

https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/gasoline-prices-adjusted-for-inflation/

And here's one going back to 1931.

https://inflationdata.com/articles/inflation-adjusted-prices/inflation-adjusted-gasoline-prices/

I don't like paying more for fuel like everyone else, but these are things out of my hands so I'm not going to spend much time worrying about it. I've got my hands full with plenty of other worries.
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: luvrbus on January 03, 2021, 06:55:04 AM
Prices will not change my travels but a lot of people it will and higher fuels prices IMO will just slow down the recovery rate from the CV-19,fuel prices affect about everything in our daily life,it not hard to figure the average price in 2020 oil was $34.00 a barrel in 2021 they predict a price of $48.00 a barrel   
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: niles500 on January 03, 2021, 10:47:44 AM
Oil is generally quoted in US dollars, and the dollar has taken a dive vs. most all other currencies, oil hasn't gone up, it just takes more dollars to buy a barrel - fwie
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: luvrbus on January 03, 2021, 11:56:37 AM
Oil is generally quoted in US dollars, and the dollar has taken a dive vs. most all other currencies, oil hasn't gone up, it just takes more dollars to buy a barrel - fwie


It takes more dollars to buy anything now,the richest nation in the world with the most debt of any
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: Dave5Cs on January 03, 2021, 12:23:04 PM
Here in the great north Cali one corner will be $3.15 a gallon and the other will be $3.53 a gallon?
Still packing the Bus hope to be on the road by Tuesday. Sold our car already and house is getting empty. Cats are freaking out and both sleeping in bed with us. LOL
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: Oonrahnjay on January 04, 2021, 12:59:55 PM
  Our home heating oil runs high. You can find best oil prices in PA. on a best oil price site. The fuel dealers post their prices. Around here, dealers don't show their prices and our price is usually 20 to 25 cents a gallon more than the eastern part of state. I know bulk fuel source should account for some difference, but not that much. 

Chessie - The deal is that when HHO usage goes up, the "auctions" for middle-weight-fuel-oil (which is what HHO and ULSD is) goes up.  The fuel companies have computers for temperature-hours or temperature-days to calculate how much HHO they expect to use over the few days and weeks.
In the southeast, we had temps up near room temperatures until mid-December. 
But the big deal is that fuel oil is fungible* and if someone in New Hampshire is willing to pay $2.50 a gallon for heating oil, then that drives up the wholesale price everywhere.  And it's been solid cold in the New England/Great Lakes/Upper Midwest states, - like I need to tell you that - for the past 2 - 3 weeks.

The BIGGEST thing is that it's a business.  If the people who sell fuel oil can find any reason to jack the price up, they will.  And prices will stay up as long as the market supports it (or they have price-fixing) unless an unfavorable supply/demand climate drives it down by competition. An early warm spring will put price pressure on oil, and more fuel use on the road will drive prices up.

I paid $1.93 last week (coastal North Carolina) for diesel in my TDI but especially the chains (Love's etc) are up around $2.60, up $.35 - $,45 in the last two weeks.  What's going to happen next is anybody's guess but I figure
that prices will stay about where they are then drop when HHO use declines in about 8 weeks.

(*except for California and that's their own problem.)`
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: luvrbus on January 04, 2021, 02:14:56 PM
Isn't heating oil heavier than diesel like a #4 or #6 fuel which is less refined ?
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: dtcerrato on January 04, 2021, 02:48:57 PM
Heating oil in Alaska is similar to # 1 diesel (winter blend motor fuel) which is lighter that standard #2 diesel. It's similar to kerosene. Not sure about the lower 48.
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: belfert on January 04, 2021, 03:24:23 PM
Both gasoline and diesel have been trending upward in the past few weeks here in Minneapolis.  I don't pay near as much attention to diesel prices over winter since my bus is parked in a snowbank until summer.
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: luvrbus on January 04, 2021, 04:37:52 PM
Heating oil in Alaska is similar to # 1 diesel (winter blend motor fuel) which is lighter that standard #2 diesel. It's similar to kerosene. Not sure about the lower 48.


Must be a gel problem in Alaska to use a lighter fuel kerosene has less BTU per gal than # 2 diesel
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: chessie4905 on January 05, 2021, 05:02:23 AM
Since kerosene gels about -40, better to use up there than hoping the fuel supplier got the blended right. Had that happen back in the 80's here. We had a temp of -23 at home. Many diesels had problems with fuel gel. I ran kerosene in my Olds in January and February. Cheap back then and wasn't dyed. After that snap, the fuel dealers put enough in the blend to not see it happen again. They just jacked up the price to cover it.
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: Knuckles on January 05, 2021, 06:13:46 AM
Heating oil is kerosene also known as winter diesel , no 1 diesel , jet a fuel and is the lightest fuel. No 2 diesel also known as summer diesel is next then the thicker fuels like number 3,4 ,etc to bunker fuel
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: luvrbus on January 05, 2021, 06:44:46 AM
When # 1 fuel was the primary fuel for the Detroit's to help with the ash build up the Cetane was so low they were a bear to start in cold weather and the white smoke would roll for 5 minutes till one warmed up,going to # 2 fuel they ran better,started better and made more power and you didn't have all the injector problems with one.I overhauled a 6-110 Detroit a long time ago some person tried to run bunker C fuel in, that grade was almost asphalt   
Title: Re: Fuel Prices
Post by: TomC on January 06, 2021, 10:23:55 AM
During the '70's fuel crisis, an employee at the Hyperion Sewage Pumping (L.A.) plant started filling his Mercedes 240D with #3 Diesel fuel that they used for pilot fuel (think spark plug) for the dual fuel Worthington's that were used for pumping and air compressing. On the Mercedes, he did not recalibrate the injection pump and the hotter Diesel fuel punched holes in all 4 cylinders. An expensive experiment-ironic though when someone is stealing fuel.
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